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Crestrunner-Class (Reboot)
The Crestrunner-class was a Federation Scout and Medium Cruiser starship first built and later taken out of Starfleet service in the 2370s. It's predecessor, the Lippershey-class (so named after the inventor of the first modern telescope, Hans Lippershey), was a Federation Heavy Scout and Destroyer starship first built in 2252 and used in Starfleet service until the early 2380s. The Crestrunner-class was the first vessels directly overseen by Rear Admiral Rex van Nanners, who later went on to found the beginnings of the Farseer Project. Though they were innovations at the time, newer and more specialized ships such as the Intrepid-class quickly rendered the Crestrunner's hybrid scout-cruiser role moot. Celebrated members of this class include the USS Darksky and the USS Zerox, both of which functioned as early testbeds for Vituzad-integrated technology. This included the first prototype of the Federation Vort-Warp Drive, which would later become standard issue on the Scarlet-type configuration of the new Loki-class battlecruisers, paving the way for exploration in the Delta quadrant. History Development of the Lippershey-class began immediately prior to the famed Battle of Anaxar. Though initially intended as an exploratory and border intelligence vessel for Starfleet, Anaxar would prove to be a point of redesign for the vessel towards military applications, as reflected with the class's swift redesignation as a "Deep Scout" meant to detect and report further fleet incursions during the Four Years War. Much of the ship's exploratory equipment was ditched in favor of expanded fusion generators and a twin shuttlebay on each side of the ship meant to deploy fighter craft. One of the few elements retained was the ship's experimental Deep Scanner, a colossal deflector dish mounted to the underside of the vessel that could reach up to 60 light-years in a narrow conical direction of space. Much of the ship's substructure was taken up by the vast computer equipment required to manage and process a sensor array of such a size, which severely restricted the ship's capabilities and internal space. Rather than expand the function of the Deep Sensor or sacrifice additional space for weapons and equipment, a sizable armor 'hood' was mounted atop and below the ship's saucer section, which extended to power a secondary deflector intended for all shipborne functions. After the success of the Excelsior-class design in 2293, it soon became the industry standard for a host of other vessels meant to fulfill more specialized roles. One of these roles, posed later in the Excelsior's development cycle, was long-range scouting and communication both for exploratory and military purposes. With the failure of the 'Great Experiment', many in the Starfleet admiralty realized that perimeter action vessels would become a priority in future starship design, given that a simple 'anywhere, anytime' solution was no longer possible. Rather than develop a fleet of deep-space vessels, the two then-Admirals Rex van Nanners and Henry A. Dyston proposed the construction of a 'Deep Survey' vessel similar in design to the outdated Lippershey-class. Though advancements in 24th-century sensor technology would render the need of a Deep Scanner obsolete, devoting a portion of the ship's interior to advanced sensory equipment proved to be crucial in the Crestrunner's initial design. Even then, the ship still presented a large number of problems which were not easily solved even in it's final implementation. Chief amongst them was the lack of interior space posed by the Lippershey-class, which still came to be a contentious point of design given the ship's expanded mandates and requirements. As a result, the ship was given an entirely new pseudo-Engineering Hull, located immediately aft of the ship's main saucer along the central axis. As well as acting as housing for the deflector, this hull would serve to free up additional space for modern crew amenities and systems, features which the highly compact Lippershey-class lacked. Like it's predecessor, most of the ship's sensory equipment was located in the ship's large substructure nearest to the edge of each side, where it would have the most space. More fragile and critical sensors were contained in two armored 'bays' immediately aft of the primary bridge, allowing the vessel to retain a strong advantage even if the main array on the 'wings' was knocked offline. The Crestrunner's warp engines are located directly aft of the nacelle struts, adjacent to the ship's twin shuttlebays and impulse drives. One of the Crestrunner's main design flaws was the paltry space allocated to the ship's drive housing, thus greatly limiting the size and resulting power of the engines in question. This necessitated the creation of a speed governor built into the ship's drive system, limiting it's maximum operating speed to Warp 8 if not disabled as to prevent the core from destabilizing or ripping the ship apart. Starfleet remained unflinching in the neccesity for the ship to defend itself should it face combat, choosing to forego a pure exploratory approach in favor of arming the ship with a large array of phasers. Said phasers, however, were concentrated almost entirely on the forward saucer section and the aft end of the nacelles, creating awkward firing arcs in an attempt to compensate from the resulting blind spots. The ship's custom-built EPS and power relay system, furthermore, prevented the ability to mount additional phaser banks without damaging it's reliability or requiring additional fusion generators, which themselves would prove an obvious vulnerability in combat and added fuel alike. In addition, the Deflector section could not accommodate a fully-sized and staffed Photon Torpedo launcher, thus restricting the original configuration of the ship to a single aft-facing launcher. Most crew amenities remained untouched and comparable to those found in it's Excelsior-class cousins, something that caused a significant amount of distress between the two admirals and Starfleet, who felt that a more military-type design would be important compared to a mere exploratory vessel in a time of war. Though initially developed in the 2330s, the multitude of issues in it's design and approval by Starfleet would delay the Crestrunner's deployment until 2377, a full two years after the Dominion War. By then, Starfleet had no further use of the class and construction was halted indefinitely. The three existing prototypes -- the USS Crestrunner, the USS Liberator, and the USS Darksky -- were allowed to continue their operational lifespan, albeit shortened significantly. A refit configuration was intended for service in the Farseer Project, but was scrapped after the outbreak of the Vituzad War in favor of the Loki-class. Though never formally put into use, this refit configuration would update the ship to all modern specifications, including a more compact sensor suite, fixed warp harmonics through a modernized warp core, and enhanced armament including rear-facing phaser cannons and the ability to fire quantum torpedoes from both the fore and aft of the vessel. It would also be the first trial by Starfleet, with local assistance, to attempt to integrate Vituzad technology into their ships operating in the area. Though not entirely successful on the Crestrunner, the lessons learned would prove invaluable towards the development of a Vituzad-integrated configuration for the upcoming Loki-class vessels due to serve within the next decade. Specification The Lippershey-class was the first of it's kind. Though other scouting vessels were employed by Starfleet during the so-called 'Anaxar Era', the Lippershey was able to distinguish itself through the use of it's powerful sensory equipment. Though it's flaws and mechanical concerns (such as the retracting Deep Scanning dish) would continue to dog it throughout it's lifespan, it still managed a mostly respectable service and action record in concert with other Federation starships. The USS Sacharias Jansen did receive an upgrade later in it's lifespan through the replacement of it's Deep Scanner dish with a diminutive Engineering sub-structure as well as the expansion of it's two primary shuttlebays. This was largely an attempt to repurpose the class towards a more exploratory role, being able to house more crew neccesary for a three- or five-year mission. Only one significant upgrade was made on the class after that, bringing it up to the specifications of the late 2260s. Even then, once the end of the Four Years War came and hostilities with the Klingon Empire began to dull into a cold war, the Lippershey's use in either a true combat nor exploratory role began to be called into question. By the time the first Constitution-class refits were being put into place, the final Lippershey-class vessel to serve, the USS Sacharias Jansen, was already dismantled. Much like the Excelsior- and Lippershey-classes before it, the Crestrunner utilized a great deal of modularity in it's design wherever it could. Some oddities in design did, however, necessitate a custom configuration, something that would contribute to Starfleet Engineering's disapproval of continuing the class's modernization. No significant and formal upgrades would occur to the vessel, aside from the attempts made on the USS Darksky under it's assignment within the Farseer Project. Much like the Excelsior-class, the ship was incapable of planetary landing, relying instead on it's transporters and compliment of shuttlecraft to transit it's crew. In the event of an emergency, it would function much the same as any other vessel, retaining a full allowance of emergency escape pods able to house and supply the entire crew for a number of months. Though the ship was initially not self-sufficient, extended voyages on the edge of the Delta and Gamma quadrants in the Farseer Project forced many crews to innovate, such as with the replacing of auxiliary labs and cargo space with hydroponics equipment. As of yet, the class is continuing operations, though it will likely be fully decommissioned in the 2390s following similar plans for outdated Dominion War-era vessels. Subclasses Lippershey-class, mk I Sacharias Jansen-subclass, mk II mk III Crestrunner-class, mk I Darksky-subclass, mk II (Uncompleted) Tactical Summary The original Lippershey-class design was not intended for combat, boasting a minimum of armament and a shield grid comparable to most frigates. Along with an entirely forward-centric firing arc, this would restrict the class to a minimum of tactical options. However, with the introduction of the Sacharias Jansen's refit, two additional phaser banks would be mounted to the rear of the ship (one dorsal near the impulse engines and one ventral below the Engineering substructure), which alleviated many field concerns over the ship being able to act in sudden or multi-angled combat, such as in the event of ambush. The final upgrade of the Lippershey would forego the additional hull space for two manned turrets, one each on the dorsal and ventral sides of the impulse engines. In both instances, the ship's Deflector Shielding was improved, first in accordance with the Constitution-class and later with the pre-Refit standards present in the late 2260s. Both of these were held up by advances in fusion and EPS technology, helping to distribute energy in a more efficient and immediate manner. As stated, the flawed arcs of the original Crestrunner-class vessels were a significant disadvantage to the ship's capabilities in combat. This was partially relieved by the innovations on the USS Darksky, but would come only just in time for the ship to be destroyed under enemy fire. Like the other vessels of it's time, the Crestrunner's phaser banks fired only in a hybrid pulse/beam mode, as shown on the original Excelsior-class design, until it's update with the Darksky. This update would improve many of the class' tactical shortcomings, enabling the vessel to accomplish a much wider range of tactical maneuvers (between it's Dominion-era phasers and multiple fast-loading warheads able to be fired from both directions). Both variants, however, would continue to employ an FSS-Type Deflector Shield, the same type originally present on the Excelsior-class vessels -- Even if the Darksky made some minor modifications in the employment of Vituzad technology later in it's career. Known Vessels Only five vessels of the Lippershey-class were built; the USS Lippershey (NCC-928), the USS Grossteste (NCC-979), the USS Digges (NCC-981), the USS Sacharias Jansen (NCC-984), and the USS Huygens (NCC-986). The USS Lippershey in particular was noted for it's exemplary participation in the Four Years War, stopping a secondary Klingon incursion at Gamma Hydra. All vessels were decommissioned before the V'Ger incident. During it's short lifespan, four vessels of the Crestrunner-class were completed and put into active service: the USS Crestrunner (NCC-7200), the USS Liberator (NCC-7201), the USS Darksky (NCC-0514), and the USS Zerox (NCC-7208). The Darksky in particular served with distinction during it's short assignment in the Farseer Project, prompting Starfleet to issue a special dispensation to renew it's ancient registry upon the construction of the first Loki-class starships, following it's destruction in 2381. It would become the first Starfleet vessel captained by a former defector of an enemy state. Category:Reboot Vessels + Stations